The U.S. Federal Communications Commission's recent decision to craft network neutrality regulations includes "ambiguity" in the proposed language that could allow broadband providers to skirt the rules, a group of tech-focused law professors said.
Barnes & Noble Sued Over Design for E-book Reader
Spring Design, a maker of electronic readers, is suing Barnes & Noble, claiming the bookseller's newly launched Nook reader illegally copied its dual-screen design after the two discussed a possible partnership. Spring Design said Barnes & Noble used its proprietary design to better compete with Amazon.com's market-leading Kindle, while failing to disclose its intentions to make its own device.
Settlement Appears Likely in Litigation Over Skype
The bitter battle over the future of the Internet calling service Skype appears to be nearing an end. A resolution of the litigation surrounding the service, which is owned by eBay, could be announced as soon as this week, according to several people who have been briefed on the situation.
Hacker Sends Text Messages to "Jailbroken" iPhones
A hacker in the Netherlands broke into some jailbroken iPhones and sent text messages to the owners asking them to pay to find out how to secure their phones, according to postings in a Dutch forum called Tweakers.net.
Man Charged for Developing Tools to Hack Cable Modems
Federal authorities unsealed charges in Boston against a man they allege developed tools to help people steal free Internet access by modifying cable modems. According to authorities, Ryan Harris and the company he founded, TCNISO, developed and distributed hardware and software tools that enabled customers to modify their cable modems and mask themselves as paying Internet subscribers.
EBay Removes Items from Anti-Abortion Activists
Online auction house eBay has removed items that were posted for sale by anti-abortion activists trying to raise money for defense of a man accused of killing a Kansas abortion provider, the company said. Supporters of Scott Roeder -- one in Kansas City, Mo. and the other in Des Moines, Iowa -- posted various items in separate eBay auctions including an Army of God manual, an underground publication for anti-abortion militants that describes ways to shut down clinics.
Founder of Online Betting Site Gets Four-Year Sentence
The founder of the online gambling site BetOnSports.com was sentenced to more than four years in prison, ending a lengthy investigation and prosecution into one of the world's largest offshore sports gambling companies. Gary Kaplan, 50, must also forfeit $43.6 million in illegally obtained revenue as part of a plea agreement.
WIPO Plans "Fast Track" Process for Domain Name Complaints
Trademark owners will be able to request fast-track UDRP proceedings at WIPO's Arbitration and Mediation Center from early next year. The Center is expecting to launch a number of modifications to its practices under the existing Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), designed for simple cases primarily of a default nature.
European Commission Relaxes Mandate for Open Standards
The European Commission has quietly watered down plans to mandate usage of open standards for European public services. Instead it will allow the use of open specifications, while patents and paid licenses will no longer be taboo.
Students Sue School Over Punishment for MySpace Photos
Two sophomore girls have sued their school district after they were punished for posting sexually suggestive photos on MySpace during their summer vacation. The American Civil Liberties Union, in a federal lawsuit filed last week on behalf of the girls, argues that Churubusco High School violated the girls' free speech rights when it banned them from extracurricular activities for a joke that didn't involve the school.
Sedo Blocks Access to Allegedly Infringing Site
A marketplace for the buying and selling of Web site names has blocked access to a site that allegedly infringed on the trademark of the Las Vegas M Resort. Officials at Cambridge, Mass.-based Sedo, an acronym for "Search Engine for Domain Offers," said they took action against the Web site after reading about it in a news story.
Apple Pushing Harder to Block Illegal Mac Computers
Apple may be continuing its efforts to block unauthorized hardware from being able to take advantage of its software, if reports are accurate from early testers of an upcoming OS X update. The move, according to reports, could be an effort to stamp out the "Hackintosh" phenomenon -- the unauthorized creation of PC desktops, notebooks and netbooks running a hacked version of OS X.
Court Orders Spammer to Pay Facebook $711 Million
Facebook said a California court has awarded the social networking website $711 million in damages in an anti-spam case against Internet marketer Sanford Wallace. Facebook sued Wallace for accessing users' accounts without their permission and sending phony posts and messages.
Homeland Security Opens Center to Fight Cyberattacks
The United States is well behind the curve in the fight against computer criminals, Sen. Joe Lieberman said, as Homeland Security officials opened a $9 million operations center to better coordinate the government's response to cyberattacks. Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, said legislation being drafted by his committee will require federal agencies and private companies to set up a system to share information on cyber threats.
GAO Warns Swine Flu Could Swell Internet Traffic
As the spread of the H1N1 flu keeps more Americans away from work and school, a federal report warns that all those people logging on to the Web from home could overwhelm Internet networks. The Government Accountability Office reported that if the flu reaches a pandemic, a surge in telecommuting and children accessing video files and games at home could bog down local networks.
Chinese Writers' Groups Oppose Google's Book Scanning
A long-running dispute over Google’s efforts to digitize books has spread to China, where authors have banded together to demand that their works be protected from what they call unauthorized copying. Two Chinese writers' groups claim that Google has scanned Chinese works into an electronic database in violation of international copyright standards.
New Tool Finds Malware in Posts on Twitter
Kaspersky unveiled a new tool called "Krab Krawler" that analyzes the millions of tweets posted on Twitter every day and blocks any malware associated with them. The tool looks at every public post as it appears on Twitter, extracts any URLs in them and analyzes the Web page they lead to, expanding any URLS that have been shortened, Costin Raiu, a senior malware analyst at Kaspersky, said in an interview.
Facebook Seeks Users' Comments on Privacy Policy
Facebook head of communications Elliot Schrage posted a company blog entry inviting members to review proposed updates to the social network's privacy policy, and much of it deals with what happens to the content of accounts that members have opted to delete.
Google Tells FTC It Blocks Calls to 100 Numbers
Google said it restricts calls to less than 100 U.S. telephone numbers with its Google Voice service, responding to a query from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Google said fewer than 100 numbers are restricted, all of which the company said it believes are engaged in high-cost "traffic pumping schemes" such as adult chat and "free" conference call lines.
Twitter Warns Users About Phishing Attack
Twitter warned about a new phishing attack in which direct messages to users link to a fake log-in page that steals passwords. "We've seen a few phishing attempts today; if you've received a strange (direct message), and it takes you to a Twitter log-in page, don't do it!" the Twitter spam warning says.
